I hope that you are all feeling a little more rested after the Easter break but of course this means that we are back into the swing of a very busy summer term. It was great to see so many of our Year 11 students in over the first week of the holiday taking part in the Revision Programme. The sessions were highly challenging and focused on the best ways to prepare for the summer examinations. It was very encouraging to see the majority of the year group in over the course of the week and I would like to thank the teachers who gave up part of their break to come in and deliver such a thorough coverage of the subjects. It is vital that the Year 11s make the most of the next few weeks in the lead up to the public examinations and attend as many extra revision classes after school as they can, in addition to maximising the work that they do in their lessons and at home. They have had a great deal of guidance and advice about the best ways to prepare but I would ask all parents to take an interest in the work that they are doing and help them in any way you can. It was also a busy Easter for a number of our Year 8 students who enjoyed a wonderful ski trip to Switzerland. I've spoken to a number of the students who all said what a fantastic time they had and many have said that they would like to go again so I can only apologise to parents for future expenditure in this direction. Again I would like to thank the staff who gave up a week of their break to supervise the students and in particular I would like to thank Mrs Musker who was running her second ski trip in three months and Mr Punungwe who also performed spectacularly on both ski trips last term. Next week it is the turn of the Year 7s to sit their Core Subjects Examinations in the Hall. It is important for all of our students to get used to the pressures of this type of assessment and I wish the year group all the very best. They have settled in very well as a year at Roding Valley and we are expecting that their assessments will show pleasing levels of progress in the time that they have been with us. Finally I would like to congratulate the Year 11 GCSE Music students who performed their pieces in front of a select audience on Thursday evening. As ever the standard of performance was very high and there was a wide range of musical styles on display. Thank you to Mr Savage for co-ordinating the evening and for the students for putting in so much hard work and preparation. These are the pieces that they will be showcasing for their Music GCSE examinations next week so I wish them all every success. James Luck Headteacher
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